Jaroslav Malina (anthropologist)

During the years 2001–2009 twelve post-gradual doctoral students graduated under his supervision; currently he supervises fifteen doctoral students and several bachelor and masters-level students.

After the passing of the first head of the Department Jan Beneš in 1999, Malina became the head of department.

Malina was awarded the Rector of Masaryk University Prize for the outstanding scientific work (1995, 1997), the City of Brno Prize (1997), 3rd prize and Recognition of Honor at the 18th book fair Libri in Olomouc for the books Vladimír Preclík a Vincenc Makovský (2003), The CERM Academic Publishing House Prize for the book of the year - První císař: Tvůrce Číny a osmého divu světa (2005) and Kruh prstenu (2008), professor Josef Hynie Prize for the best publication in the scientific discipline in the year 2007 (2008) and others.

In 1994 Jaroslav Malina was awarded the scientific degree Doctor Scientiae (DrSc.), and in 1995 the academic degree professor of anthropology at the Masaryk University.

In 1993 he initiated an extensive scientific and artistic project to produce a book in five volumes and an associated exhibition titled Kruh prstenu: Světové dějiny sexuality, erotiky a lásky od počátků do současnosti v reálném životě, krásné literatuře, výtvarném umění a dílech českých malířů a sochařů inspirovaných obsahem této knihy ["The Circle of the Ring: The World History of Sexuality, Eroticism and Love from the Beginnings up to the Present Day in Real Life, Belle-Lettres, Visual Art and in the Works of Czech Painters and Sculptors Inspired by the Content of this Book"]. After the preprints of the four volumes published in 1999–2003 the work started to be published in its final form in 2007. In 2000 the long-time scientific and educational project Panoráma biologické a sociokulturní antropologie: Modulové učební texty pro studenty antropologie a "příbuzných" oborů ["Panorama of Biological and Sociocultural Anthropology: Module Textbooks for Students of Anthropology and Related Specialisations"] in the framework of which and under his editorial leadership with the contributions of many significant specialists 40 volumes were published.

In 1993 he co-founded the Universitas Masarykiana Foundation (currently Universitas Foundation), became its president and also president of the Karel Engliš Prize Committee and that of the Universitas Masarykiana Foundation Prize Committee. The Foundation supports the following six foundation editorial lines, which Malina founded and serves as an editor:

Through experimental archaeology Malina came to understand the complexity of human nature and shifted his research and occupational interests to anthropology. In the beginning of the 1990s, together with Jan Beneš and Vladimír Novotný, he co-founded the Department of Anthropology of the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University, which directly picked up on Vojtěch Suk’s Anthropological Institute which was, due to ideological reasons, strictly limited and reduced during the years 1948–1989. Together with his colleagues, Malina strongly supported (and supports) the idea of anthropology as a holistic, integral (biological – social – cultural) scientific disciplines, which studies man from every possible point of view.

Malina was awarded the PhD in 1968, and in 1993 he was awarded the degree docent – associate professor of anthropology.

Malina has had a great interest in archaeology and anthropology since childhood. After finishing secondary education he enrolled for a study of archaeology at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University, graduating in 1967. In 1969 he performed (with his colleagues) his first archaeological experiment. With this experiment and his consequent work in experimental archaeology he became a founder of this scientific discipline in (former) Czechoslovakia and this discipline also led him to pursuing his goals in anthropology.

Jaroslav Malina (born 11 April 1945, in Dolní Bučice near Čáslav, Czech Republic) is a Czech archaeologist, anthropologist, publishing editor, head of the Department (Institute) of Anthropology of the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, and founder and head of Universitas (Masarykiana) Foundation.